Broken Silence
by runningthroughtheroses
Summary: The fifth little liar. The keeper of secrets. The one who could be trusted. Saige's life is shattered when her best friend, Alison DiLaurentis, goes missing. When the mysterious A threatens to reveal her secrets a year later, she reluctantly reunites with her old friends. But Saige knew Ali better than anyone...and not all of the secrets that she's keeping are her own. AU
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Labor Day meant three things: The end of summer vacation, the last days of warm weather, and the perfect opportunity for one more party.

Five girls were taking full advantage of that fact as they danced around in Spencer Hastings' barn, blasting music and grabbing handfuls of buttery popcorn from the bowl on the table. Four of the girls were full of smiles and laughs, but one perched on the edge of the couch wasn't quite up to the fun.

Saige Bosler checked her phone for the fifth time. Still nothing. She glanced nervously at the door to the barn and gnawed on her thumbnail, even though Alison always said that it was a disgusting habit.

But Alison wasn't here. And that was the problem. Saige set her phone down and watched Spencer and their other friends, Aria Montgomery, Hanna Marin, and Emily Fields as they laughed and danced around the room. None of them looked the slightest bit concerned over the whereabouts of their missing leader.

They were used to this. Ali had plenty of secrets, plenty of other places to be. She'd been ditching them more and more lately. They knew to expect lateness from her, with only a vague explanation when she finally did show up.

But it was different with Saige. They told each other everything (well, almost everything). Saige couldn't remember the last time she didn't know exactly where Ali was, exactly what she was doing and who she was with. That's how their relationship worked, because that's what being best friends meant.

Saige looked once more at her phone and felt another prickle of nerves. If Ali had ditched the sleepover without inviting Saige along, something wasn't right.

At last, Aria sat down on the couch and looked up at her. "Where's Ali?" she called above the music.

"Yeah, you guys are usually joined at the hip," Spencer observed.

Saige shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. She didn't tell me."

Her four friends exchanged glances. Even though they were all best friends, everyone knew that what Ali and Saige had was special.

But before anyone could question it, or start to worry, the music abruptly shut off and the lights flickered. "What was that?" Hanna cried, just as the lights completely cut out.

"It must be the storm," Spencer said, grabbing a match and lighting a nearby candle. Aria clicked on a flashlight.

The storm could explain the power outage and the sound of the wind whistling outside. But when a loud _bang_ resonated through the barn, all five girls leapt to their feet.

"I think someone's out there," Aria whispered frantically, gesturing toward the door.

"Seriously?" Emily squeaked.

"It's probably nothing," Saige tried to reason, but even she felt her heart hammer as the girls huddled together. They walked slowly toward the door, screaming as another loud knocking followed the first.

They stopped, Aria holding out the flashlight to illuminate the entrance to the barn. As they watched, the door began to creak open. Saige's stomach turned over.

 _"_ _Gotcha!"_

Alison DiLaurentis bounded into the room, her blond hair flowing out behind her and a radiant smile on her face. Everyone shrieked, falling into each other in relief. "That's so not funny, Alison," Spencer gasped.

"I thought it was hilarious, girls," Ali crowed, leading the way back into the barn.

Saige followed, slapping her a high five. "Oh my God," she breathed, pressing her other hand to her chest. "That was awesome." As the girls settled back down, with Ali and Saige squeezing into one chair, she leaned over and whispered, "Where have you been?"

Ali hesitated so briefly that Saige almost missed it. "My mom was acting like a psycho," she muttered back, in a voice low enough that the others couldn't hear. "You know how she gets."

Saige gave her a sympathetic look. Ali's mother, Jessica DiLaurentis, was majorly intense about ninety-eight percent of the time. It made her eternally grateful for her own laidback, easygoing parents.

"We thought you weren't going to show," Emily said, grinning at Ali in obvious relief.

"Calm down, killer," Ali joked. "I don't have to be by your side every second, do I?"

Saige chuckled – Emily was more loyal to Ali than anyone, and usually she owned that with pride. But Emily bit her lip and looked away, the smile slipping off of her face.

"Let's get this party started," Ali said, bumping her shoulder into Saige's. "Somebody turn the music up!"

Spencer did as she asked, and Ali grabbed a bottle of tequila and an empty glass from the table. She gave the bottle an approving look. "Nice work, Han. I guess that baggy sweater really did do you good."

Hanna gave an obviously forced smile, and Saige turned her head away to hide a wince. The nice part of being Ali's number one best friend was that she never had to worry about being the victim of Ali's snide comments and sometimes nasty jokes. But it also meant that she didn't feel comfortable speaking up when Ali made fun of someone else.

By the time she turned back, Ali had filled the glass and was holding it out to her. "Want to start us off?"

"I'm good," Saige said immediately, giving her a look. Ali knew she avoided drinking whenever possible, and she also knew why.

With anyone else, Ali would have pushed her buttons until she gave in. But never with Saige. "Fine, party pooper," she teased, then leaned forward to Aria instead. "Your turn."

Aria grabbed the glass and took a long sip. "Careful, Aria," Spencer laughed. "If you drink too much you'll start spilling all your secrets."

"Friends share secrets," Ali said with a smile, squeezing Saige's hand. "That's what keeps us close."

…

A crash of thunder woke Saige several hours later. She sat up groggily, rubbing at her eyes until she could see well enough to look around. Hanna and Emily were curled up on either ends of the couch, and Spencer and Aria were slumped on the floor. All four of them were fast asleep.

But someone was missing. "Ali?" Saige whispered, climbing out of the chair that they had both fallen asleep in. After a quick look around the barn, it became apparent that Ali was gone – and the door was wide open.

Lightning lit up the room and Saige shuddered, fumbling for her phone to check her messages. Nothing from Ali. She felt a prickle of annoyance that morphed quickly into concern. Ali wouldn't duck out of a sleepover without at least telling her, at most dragging her along. She just _wouldn't._

So what had happened?

Saige walked to the door and peered out into the Hastings' sprawling yard. It was completely empty, almost eerily calm despite the oncoming storm. "Ali?" she called again, taking a few reluctant steps outside.

She glanced in the direction of the DiLaurentis' house next door. The light in Ali's room was on, and she felt her nerves settle down. Maybe Ali hadn't felt well and decided to go home. Maybe she'd forgotten her phone in the barn so hadn't been able to text Saige and explain.

That had to be it. Saige walked across the Hastings' lawn and wiggled through the bushes that separated the properties. She scooped two pebbles from the DiLaurentis' flowerbed and tossed them at Ali's window, their secret code for when they wanted the other to sneak out at night and talk.

Saige stared up at the window for a few endless minutes, tapping her hand against her thigh anxiously. Why would the light be on if Ali was asleep? And anyway, she slept lightly – and _always_ woke up when Saige threw pebbles at the window.

She turned away, pressing a hand to her fluttering stomach. It was only then that she finally let herself consider the possibility that something was wrong. Maybe the best answer would be to go tell Ali's parents that she was missing from the sleepover.

Conflicted, she pulled up a new text to Ali: _Where r u?_

The message went through, but no reply came. Saige looked back at the barn, unsure. If something really had happened to Ali, she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't do everything she could to find her. And that meant telling Mr. and Mrs. DiLaurentis, maybe even calling the police.

But on the other hand…what if Ali really did ditch the sleepover? Maybe she was hanging out with the older girls she'd recently started texting. Or maybe…Saige grimaced, pressing a hand against her mouth. Maybe she was with Ian. They'd been at Hilton Head together _just this morning,_ after all.

As she walked slowly back toward the barn, Saige thought back to a conversation she'd had with Hanna a few weeks ago. When they were out shopping, Hanna had stared at her reflection in the dressing room mirror, her stomach puffing out over a pair of too-small jeans, and confided in Saige that she worried that Ali was getting ready to ditch them.

Saige always figured she was safe from that fate. She and Ali were too close for either of them to ever move on from the other. But now she wasn't so sure. If Ali was off meeting up with her secret older boyfriend without even telling her, was their friendship really as tight as she thought?

"Saige?"

She snapped out of her thoughts, for a moment thinking it had been Ali calling out to her. But it was Spencer, standing at the door to the barn. She'd walked all the way back without even realizing it.

Saige walked over quickly. Aria stood beside Spencer, looking worried. Hanna and Emily watched from further into the room. "Where's Ali?" Aria called.

"I don't know," Saige admitted for the second time that night, folding her arms. "I woke up a few minutes ago. I was just out looking for her."

"You couldn't find her?" Emily spoke up hoarsely. Her face was white with fear.

Usually Saige would have rolled her eyes – obvious, much? – but she was too frightened to do anything but shake her head.

Spencer looked past her, staring out at the vast, dark yard in front of them. "Ali's gone," she said, her voice quiet and trembling. Saige felt her heart drop like a stone into her stomach at actually hearing it out loud.

And that was the beginning of the end.

...

Toss me a review and let me know what you think of this so far. I have some ideas for how this story is going to go - and it's not going to be the exact plot of the TV show by any means. Feedback gives me motivation to keep writing!


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you so much to everyone who left feedback on the last chapter. Getting so many reviews definitely encouraged me to get this up quickly, so keep letting me know what you think! I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 2

 _One Year Later_

The hardest part was seeing her picture.

Saige could deal with the articles. The flowers outside the DiLaurentis' house. The whispers of her name, as if no one could bring themselves to actually say it out loud.

But her picture…actually seeing her face, as vibrant and full of life as Saige remembered…it was too much to bear.

Normally it wasn't an issue. All she had to do was avoid the places where she knew the faded "Missing" posters were hung and she'd be fine.

But today was September 1. She knew what the date meant. She knew that it had been one year since Ali disappeared, since her entire world collapsed.

And yet her heart still stopped as soon as she saw the newspaper.

 _ONE YEAR LATER AND STILL MISSING._

The headline itself took Saige's breath away, but she took one look at the picture beneath it and felt like she had been punched in the stomach. It was Ali's last school picture.

…

 _"_ _Wear this one."_

 _Saige caught the lavender top that Ali had flung in her direction and held it out in front of her. She wrinkled her nose instinctively. "It's so pale. It'll make me look like a ghost."_

 _"_ _It won't. I swear," Ali insisted, pulling a blue sleeveless blouse carefully down over her perfectly styled hair. She spun around in front of the mirror and smiled._

 _Saige watched, unsure and a little envious. Ali somehow managed to look amazing in everything, but of course she'd found a shirt that made her blue eyes look particularly bright. She played with a strand of her own light brown hair, which Ali had straightened that morning._

 _"_ _Try in on," her best friend urged, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows in exasperation. "You're gonna make us late."_

 _Saige sighed and pulled on the shirt. She and Ali were meeting Aria, Hanna, Emily, and Spencer in the bathroom before school started for one last pre-pictures primping session._

 _She tugged the top over her stomach and stepped back to take in her reflection. "Oh…wow."_

 _Ali clapped her hands and bounded over to stand beside her. "Why do you ever doubt me? I told you. It's perfect."_

 _…_

Saige blinked back tears and kicked the newspaper out of her way, sending it flopping into the grass. That purple shirt was tucked into the back corner of her closet, alongside all of the other clothes that she had "borrowed" from Ali…clothes that she would never be able to give back.

She fell into the front seat of her car and heaved a long sigh. _It's going to be a long day,_ she told herself firmly. _So you'd better get used to thinking about her._

But aching pains shot through her stomach all the same. She couldn't even bring herself to glance in the direction of Ali's house when she drove down her street. The roof of the barn peeked out from behind the trees next door.

 _A year._

Saige drove to school in a daze, forcing herself to think about her schedule for the new year and all of the activities that she planned on joining instead of dwelling on the day that stole her best friend away from her.

But once she pulled into the student parking lot, her phone was in her hand and she was typing out a new text before she even knew what she was doing.

 _Hey. I know it's been a long time since we talked…but I'm sure you remember what today is. Let me know how you're doing. I'm here for you._

Saige stared down at the message, and at the familiar name of the recipient. Then she deleted the text, shoved her phone in her bag, and got out of the car.

…

She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting. A big remembrance set up in the front hallway, maybe. Or an assembly to share memories and reflect on what a terrible thing had happened.

She should have known better. To Saige, Ali was everything, basically a sister, almost like a part of herself. But to the rest of the student body, she was just the bitchy queen bee who had gone missing, like in the movies. Her absence probably made all of their lives easier. Saige clenched her fists at the thought and tried not to hate them all.

But that wasn't all Ali was to _everyone._

Spencer was standing at her locker when Saige turned the corner, heading to her first period class. Her stomach lurched. It hadn't happened intentionally, but after Ali's disappearance the five remaining members of the group had kind of…drifted apart. And maybe it was because they were both so headstrong, or maybe because Spencer was always the first to stand up to Ali, but she and Saige had done more than just gradually stop talking.

Even so, today was different. Maybe things between them would be different, too.

Saige squared her shoulders and walked over. "Hey."

Spencer looked up, her face registering obvious surprise. "Oh. Hey."

"So how's everything going?" Saige asked quietly, leaning against the locker beside her. "I mean, you know what today is, right?"

She hadn't meant anything by it, but Spencer's eyes hardened. "Of course I do. We all do."

Taken aback but not necessarily surprised, Saige shook her head. "I didn't mean it like that."

"You may have been closer to Ali than the rest of us, but that doesn't mean we don't miss her just as much as you do." Spencer shut her locker door hard and spun around, walking briskly in the other direction with an armful of books.

Saige stared after her, dismayed. The words of their last fight echoed in her head, as clear as though it had happened just yesterday. She should have known better than to try to talk things out with Spencer on today of all days, when emotions were running so high.

But she couldn't help but feel hurt all the same. Wondering if she really had acted like Ali's disappearance meant more to her than to the others, both now and a year ago, she followed Spencer into their first period English classroom and sat as far from her as possible.

…

Saige walked into the lunch line after what was possibly the strangest first day of class in her life and nearly ran right into a very short, very familiar girl.

She stepped back and broke into a smile, despite herself. "Aria."

Remembering Spencer's reaction to seeing her, she braced herself, but Aria smiled back, reaching out to hug her. "Hey! I meant to say hi in English, but you kind of came in at the last minute."

"I can't believe you're back," Saige said, hugging her new textbooks awkwardly to her chest.

"I thought about calling," Aria replied quickly, casting her eyes away. "But – "

"I know," Saige cut in, feeling her face heat up. Why did everything about this day have to be so uncomfortable? "We lost touch. It would have felt weird."

They both grabbed trays from the beginning of the lunch line. Aria slid a veggie burger onto hers, and Saige opted for a regular hamburger. "Emily told me you guys all stopped talking," Aria commented, picking up two milk cartons and handing one to Saige.

"Not all at once. But yeah," Saige confirmed as they exited the line and stepped into the cafeteria. "We hung out for a couple months after you moved and Ali…you know. But it just wasn't the same."

Aria nodded and turned away, gazing around the cafeteria. Saige frowned, wondering if she should invite her old friend to sit with her. Would that be totally awkward? They were getting along so far, but the tension between them was thick.

But Aria spoke up before she could make up her mind. "I'm sitting with Emily. Want to join?"

Saige blinked, startled. What was Aria trying to do, rebuild their old friend group or something? She thought of her conversation with Spencer that morning and held back a snort.

But would sitting with a few of her old friends for one day really be so bad? She glanced reluctantly in the direction of her usual table. She'd made some new friends after Ali, but it wasn't the same. Nothing was.

"Sure," she blurted out before she could think too hard about it. She followed Aria across the cafeteria, giving Emily a shaky smile as she sat down across from her.

The three girls sat in silence for a few long moments, staring down at their trays as they ate. Finally Saige cleared her throat and said quietly, "There are freshman sitting at our old table."

Aria raised her head and Emily twisted around to look at the table at the very center of the cafeteria. Six fresh-faced, younger girls were giggling over something on one of their phones. Emily turned away, her expression pained as she whispered, "I can't believe she's really dead."

Saige's blood ran cold. Aria dropped her fork onto her tray. Emily glanced at them both, her eyes wide. "What? I mean, she has to be, right?"

Aria shook her head, letting out a small laugh. "You're right. It's just…no one's ever said it out loud before."

"Yeah," Saige agreed, her voice small. She'd never even really let herself think about Ali having been killed that night. But it was the only thing that made sense. Before that awful night, they never went more than one day without talking. If Ali was alive, if she was out there somewhere, there was no way she wouldn't have contacted her by now.

Aria smiled, reaching out and touching the string bracelet around Emily's wrist lightly. "You still wear that everyday?"

"Ali wore hers," Emily said defensively, closing her hand around it. "Up until she…"

"That was a good day," Saige said, absent-mindedly tapping her fork against her tray. She should have worn that bracelet today, as her own little personal memorial to Ali. She was pretty sure it was buried somewhere in the bottom of her jewelry box.

A tense silence settled back over them. Suddenly desperate to change the subject, Saige blurted out, "So how about what happened in English? That was so weird." She winced, remembering the loud echoing slam that the stack of books made when they slipped out of their new teacher's hands and tumbled to the floor.

Emily chuckled and seemed to cheer up again, much to Saige's relief. "He looked like he saw a ghost."

"He was looking right at someone when he freaked out," Saige added thoughtfully. "But I couldn't really tell who."

Aria stabbed a piece of pasta and shoved her fork in her mouth. "I'm sure it was nothing," she said after a moment, staring down at the table.

Saige raised her eyebrows and looked away. For just a second, they had been having fun. Things had seemed almost…normal. But she shouldn't have let herself go there. Things between them would clearly never be normal again.

…

The front door slammed behind her, and Saige dropped her backpack on the stairs in relief. One day down…and the rest of the year to go. She grimaced at the thought of the pile of homework already nestled in her bag and trudged up to her room. She dragged her laptop onto her lap. Immersing herself in AP Microeconomics would at least take her mind off of Alison and what this horrible day signified.

Her computer pinged with a new email alert, and Saige pulled up the screen, frowning. The sender was hidden, the subject line was blank, and the message consisted only of a link.

 _Stupid spam,_ Saige thought, rolling her eyes, and was about to delete the email when the name of the link caught her attention.

 _/the-bitch-is-dead_

Suddenly nervous, she clicked the link, and the familiar layout of the message board popped up on the screen. At the top was the same picture of Ali that she had seen in the newspaper this morning…except this picture had been embellished with devil horns and red eyes.

Saige gasped as she scrolled quickly down the rest of the page. Post after post, all from anonymous screen names…and all about Ali.

 _That bitch made my life hell. Now she can rot in it._

 _September 1, 2009 proves karma is real._

 _Good riddance Alison. Too bad no one misses you._

The words blurred before Saige's eyes. She threw the laptop down onto the bed and leapt to her feet. Her legs were shaking so badly that she could barely get down the stairs.

How had she never seen that board before? There were _hundreds_ of posts, each one nastier than the next. She felt like she was going to throw up.

How dare those kids say those things. How dare they act like no one missed Ali, like her disappearance was a _good_ thing. So what if she called them names or made them feel bad once in a while? None of them knew the real her. None of them knew _anything._

Saige was standing in front of the liquor cabinet without really knowing how she got there. This day had been one misery after another, from the moment she stepped outside and saw that newspaper. She'd promised herself two summers ago that she'd never do this again, that she wouldn't let herself go down that path.

But today called for an exception.

There was a small bottle of vodka partially hidden in the back of the cabinet, and she grabbed it. Her parents would never notice it was gone. She tipped her head back and downed half of the bottle in one swig. The liquid burned her throat the whole way down, but she welcomed the pain.

Saige's phone beeped, and she wiped her mouth and set the half-full bottle down. Then she fished her cell phone out of her pocket. Maybe it was Aria or Emily. Maybe they actually did want to make an effort to start up a friendship again.

But the sender of the text was listed as _unknown._ Saige opened the message cautiously, promising herself that she would not be opening any more mysterious links. When she found out whatever stupid kid from her school sent her that first one…

But the text wasn't a link. It was much worse.

 _Careful, Saige! You wouldn't want your little "problem" to resurface, would you? After all, you know what happened the last time you had a sip or two…and so do I. –A_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 _"_ _Slow down there, slugger. You're gonna have some_ serious _regrets in the morning." Ali slipped the cup of tequila out of Saige's hand and wrinkled her nose._

 _Saige lunged to grab it back, even though the cup only contained a few more droplets, but she missed and stumbled forward. "I'm f…fine," she slurred, holding onto Ali's arm for support. "And this – this party was your idea, 'member?"_

 _"_ _The party was, but downing three shots of vodka wasn't," Ali said with an eye roll, as poised and graceful as ever despite the beverages she_ had _consumed. "Now will you sit down before you puke on my shoes?"_

 _"_ _I'm not gonna puke," Saige muttered, but collapsed in a heap on one of the bar stools anyway. She did feel kind of dizzy, but in a good way, just like she always did at parties nowadays. Once she'd gotten wasted at one party, two months ago, she'd found it impossible to stop._

 _She didn't mind the buzz, or even the crash that followed the next morning. But Ali seemed to._

 _"_ _People are staring," Ali hissed in her ear, and Saige clamped her mouth shut, suddenly realizing that she'd been laughing out loud at nothing._

 _She crossed her legs and scowled, the exhilarated drunken feeling dimming for a moment. Ali never snapped at her or treated her like anything less than equal…except at times like these._

 _"_ _Ladies." Noel Kahn sidled up to them, leaning against the kitchen bar. He and his older brother were throwing this party, and he was clearly in his element. He held out two red cups and grinned slyly. "You two look thirsty."_

 _"_ _No thanks," Ali said with a flirty smile, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "You know I don't like to drink and dive."_

 _"_ _I'll take it!" Saige cried, clumsily grabbing one of the cups from Noel. A bit of warm liquid sloshed over the side and onto her hand._

 _Noel grinned wider, nudging her shoulder. "Now that's what I like to hear. S knows how to live." He leaned closer to the two girls and added conspiratorially, "You guys should come out back to the pool."_

 _Saige took a gulp of beer. "Swimming?"_

 _Ali smirked and widened her eyes in faux innocence. "Oh, we would, but we didn't bring our suits."_

 _Noel laid his hands flat on the table and raised an eyebrow. "You don't need suits," he said in a suggestive voice, then disappeared back into the crowd of kids._

 _Saige laughed, intrigued, but Ali rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'm so over boys our age, aren't you? Older guys are so much more appealing."_

 _Saige couldn't particularly relate – all she saw when she looked at Noel Kahn was appeal. But she wasn't exactly in a coherent enough state to argue her point, so she set her now-empty cup down and got to her feet unsteadily. "I think it sounds fuuun. Come on!" She tugged on Ali's hand insistently. "Puh-leeze?"_

 _Her best friend looked mildly annoyed, but glanced around and hopped up as well, linking their arms together. "Well, this_ is _a party, isn't it?"_

…

The taste of alcohol burned Saige's throat, and she swallowed hard, willing herself not to get sick. The text ran through her head on a loop. Her "little problem" could only be referring to one thing: Her drinking. But she hadn't had that issue since long before Ali's disappearance. And there was only one person who'd known about it.

"Ali?" she whispered in disbelief, staring down at her phone. The tone of the message had certainly sounded like her. But that was impossible. Ali was gone – _dead._ She was sure of it. And you can't send texts from beyond the grave.

And anyway, the message from the mysterious A referenced more than just Saige's old drinking problem. _You know what happened the last time…_

Not even Ali knew about that part. But someone did.

Saige's heart rate quickened. _No one_ could know about that. There was just no way. She had been so careful. And if Ali hadn't known, no one had.

She got out of her car and took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm. Maybe the text was just a prank. Maybe whoever sent it didn't really know anything at all. But she still didn't think she could deal with this alone.

She knocked on the front door, and it opened a moment later. Aria looked at her in surprise. "Um…hey!"

"Hey," Saige replied, suddenly self-conscious. Aria had been friendly in school. Saige figured she was her best bet. "Can I…do you mind if I come in?"

Aria's confused expression morphed into one of concern. "Yeah, of course. What's up?"

"I just needed to ask you some – " Mr. Montgomery wandered into the room, and Saige clamped her mouth shut. She didn't want any adults knowing about the text. If her parents somehow found out that she was getting creepy prank messages, they'd definitely want to see them. And that couldn't happen.

"Saige," Aria's dad said in obvious surprise. "Wow. It's good to see you around again."

"Hi, Mr. Montgomery," Saige replied, forcing a small smile. "Welcome back."

He smiled in return and glanced at Aria, but she turned her head away, her mouth twisting into a frown. Saige furrowed her brow, waiting silently until Mr. Montgomery exited the room. There was a time, long ago, when she would have been able to ask Aria what that weirdness was all about. But not now. She missed that closeness that they'd all once shared.

"Let's go up to my room," Aria suggested, seeming to get the message that this needed to be a private conversation.

Saige's breath hitched in her throat as soon as she stepped through Aria's doorway. Despite the moving boxes stacked against the walls and the lack of décor in the room, she almost felt like she'd been transported back in time. The wooden paneled walls were exactly the same, and so was the arrangement of the furniture and the comforter on the bed.

"What's going on?" Aria asked, a little uncomfortably. Saige wondered if she had been thinking about old times, too.

Her hand closed around the phone in her pocket, but she hesitated. Suddenly she wasn't so sure if confiding in Aria was the best idea. What if she didn't think it was a big deal? What if she thought Saige was crazy for even worrying about it?

What if she asked to _see_ it?

Terrified by the thought, Saige shook her head and took a step back. "You know what? It's no big deal. I should go."

"Wait." Aria grabbed her arm gently. "This is about A, isn't it?"

Saige's blood ran cold. "You…you got a message from A, too?"

"A text." Aria folded her arms. "During first period today."

Ah. So _that_ must have been why Aria had been acting so squirrely when they discussed Fitz's class at lunch. "I got one right after school. Do you think it's a prank or something?"

Aria sat down on the edge of her bed, and Saige joined her, a wave of déjà vu washing over her. "I don't know. I mean, I don't know what yours said, but mine got kind of…personal."

Saige squirmed, suddenly unable to sit still. She could convince herself that the message she'd received hadn't really meant anything, but if Aria was getting messages that alluded to secrets, too…

"Mine was personal, too," Saige admitted, picking at the chipped purple polish on her fingernails. "But that's not all. There's only one person who could have known."

"Alison," Aria said immediately, meeting Saige's eyes.

Saige nodded fearfully, her nerves spiking. "There's no way anyone else could have found out…my secret," Aria added, shaking her head vehemently. "And the text just…it just _sounded_ like her. Didn't yours?"

Relieved that at least Aria wasn't asking to see the message she'd received, Saige pulled her bottom lip into her mouth. "What are you saying? You think she's still alive?"

"She's been missing for a year. Why would she…" Aria shook her head and changed tactics, adding comfortingly, "Someone must be impersonating her. Just to mess with us."

That didn't do much to ease Saige's fears. "But how does someone else know all our secrets?"

…

Saige remained completely on-edge over the next few days. Every time her phone beeped with a new text or email, she nearly jumped out of her skin, only to find a message from one of her parents or a classmate. She hadn't heard another word from A.

Finally, as she stood at her locker at the end of the school day on Friday, she let out a breath. It had been three full days since the text. Maybe Aria was right. Maybe the messages meant nothing. Maybe someone had just wanted to mess with them on the anniversary of Ali's disappearance.

For the first time, she let herself relax a bit, putting her books away slowly instead of rushing to get home. There was nothing to worry about. It was just a fluke. Nobody knew her secrets.

Her phone chimed in her purse, and she shut her locker door, completely unperturbed until the sound of two other cell phones ringing followed.

Hanna and Aria turned around from their own lockers down the hall, glancing over at Saige. "Okay," Hanna said with a light, nervous-sounding laugh. "That was weird." Aria met Saige's eyes, her expression worried.

Before any of them could check their phones, Spencer and Emily rounded the corner, clutching their own cells. Spencer's brow was furrowed, and Emily's face was pale white. Saige glanced between them. If she and Aria had both received messages from A, it wasn't a stretch to think that the other members of their old group had, too.

"I don't think that was a coincidence," Aria said darkly, walking over with Hanna following. The five of them formed a loose circle in the center of the otherwise empty hallway, glancing at each other warily.

Saige broke the silence, feeling like she was about to burst. "You guys have gotten messages from A too, haven't you?"

Spencer cut her eyes away, but nodded reluctantly. Hanna grimaced and Emily pressed a hand to her mouth. Saige took a breath and opened the text, and her four old friends did the same.

 _Think I ever really left the sleepover? I'm closer than you think. Come and find me, bitches. –A_

Saige lowered her phone, staring blankly at the ground. "Oh my God."

"It really is Ali," Hanna breathed.

"She's back," Emily added, her eyes shining. She wore a look of excitement that seemed fairly out of place.

"I don't know about this, you guys," Spencer protested, crossing her arms and looking at everyone but Saige. "This doesn't seem right."

Not about to be left out, Saige cut in, "I thought A was Ali from the second I got the first text. Maybe she really didn't die that night."

"There's only one way to find out," Emily insisted, heading for the front doors. "We have to find her."  
"The sleepover," Aria mused, staring down at her phone. She looked up in realization. "Spencer, your barn. Come on."

It took ten minutes for the girls to get in their cars and speed to Spencer's house. Saige pulled crookedly up to the curb and slammed the door, not even bothering to lock her car as she ran to meet the others. What if Ali really was back? She'd survived a year without her best friend by her side, but she wanted nothing more than to have her back in her life.

They raced around Spencer's house until they reached the towering barn out back. Saige felt another pang, deep in her heart, as she stared up at it. Memories of that terrible night rolled through her head. It felt like just yesterday.

"Ali?" she yelled out desperately. Spencer pulled open the doors to the barn and peered inside. Hanna and Emily ran around and cupped their hands over the windows, trying to get a look in.

But Aria stood frozen in the center of Spencer's backyard, not looking at the barn at all. She was staring toward the DiLaurentis' old house next door, her face white with fear. "What is it?" Saige asked finally, her heart pounding. Ali could be anywhere.

She was going to see her best friend again.

But Aria shook her head. "You guys," she called, and Spencer, Hanna, and Emily walked quickly over to join them. "Look." Aria pointed a shaking finger toward the DiLaurentis' – or, rather, the St. Germains' – backyard.

Saige followed her gaze, as pained as she always felt when she had to look at Alison's old house. There was the same wraparound back porch. The same big, open backyard. The same unfinished gazebo plot from that summer.

Then she saw it. "What the hell is that?" Spencer gasped at the same moment.

The five old friends ran across the yard. Saige's breath came short and fast with panic as she stared at what was painted in bright red across the flat gazebo plot.

A large, vibrant letter _A._

The sound of five phones chiming simultaneously broke the girls out of their stunned silence. Emily let out a wail as Saige shakily held hers up. "Please, no."

"Oh my God," Hanna whispered.

Aria shook her head. "This can't mean…"

But Saige read the four words silently, and didn't see what other meaning they could have.

 _A marks the spot._

 _..._

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed! It means a lot to me to hear your feedback, so please keep letting me know what you think! Next up, Saige gets to deal with a funeral...and someone from her past.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Alison was dead.

It felt like a nightmare. Only Saige had been living it for two days, and she was pretty sure that if this was all really a dream, she would have woken up by now.

But she still felt kind of like she was floating outside her body as she walked numbly into Rosewood's only church on Sunday afternoon. For a service that had been thrown together in two days – apparently Ali's family wanted to put an end to this nightmare just as much as Saige did – there were certainly enough people in attendance. She squeezed past a group of girls in their grade who used to turn the other way when they saw Ali coming, and walked toward four familiar heads near the front of the chapel.

As she walked, balancing unsteadily in her heels, her eyes focused on the shiny black casket at the front of the room. A huge portrait of Ali sat beside it, her eyes bright and her smile brilliant. Saige's heart ached. She would never see those eyes light up at a witty remark or joke, would never see that smile aimed in her direction again.

As certain as she had been that Ali was dead before, the confirmation felt so different. The chapel tilted around her. The edges of her vision grew dark.

Suddenly a hand shot out and wrapped itself around her arm. "Hey."

Distracted, Saige's vision cleared enough for her to make out Aria's worried, sad face right in front of her. She'd made her way to the front of the church without realizing it.

"Hey guys," Saige mumbled in response, tugging gently away from Aria and wrapping her arms tightly around herself.

Emily glanced at the picture of Ali and let out a loud sniffle. "This doesn't seem real."

"That's exactly how I feel," Saige whispered, noticing the particularly pained expression on Emily's face. She looked away quickly, hoping that her face didn't give away any indication that she knew why, exactly, Emily missed Ali the most.

"I keep wondering how Ali would feel if she could see this," Hanna said, gesturing to the bunches of flowers surrounding the coffin and the crowd of people swarming into the sanctuary. "All these people coming to think about her and remember her? She would have loved it."

"Popular in life and death," Spencer muttered, her eyes on her shoes.

Emily scrunched up her face in despair. A tear rolled slowly down her cheek. Aria reached out to rub her arm briefly. "Come on, why don't we all sit together?"

The five old friends exchanged glances. Saige bit her lip. Although they'd found the site of Ali's body together and had talked a few times since then, mostly surrounding the absence of A messages they'd gotten, things weren't the same. And she had a feeling that they never would be. Ali had been the glue that held them all together, and without her…

It was the thought of Ali that abruptly changed Saige's mind. "I think it's what Ali would have wanted," she decided, and led the way to the second pew from the front, just behind Ali's parents.

They sat down in a row, a sad silence settling over them as they gazed ahead at the coffin and portrait. It was Spencer who spoke first, her eyes flitting over to Saige for only a brief second. "Are you really sitting with us? Shouldn't you be with Alison's family or something?"

There was nothing particularly wrong with her words, but it was her tone that struck Saige the wrong way. It was the same snappish, almost jealous attitude she'd had during the fight that had ended their friendship, almost a year ago.

…

 _"_ _Thanks for coming over. I just really don't want to be alone right now." Spencer held the back door open and stepped aside._

 _Saige gave her a wobbly smile. "I know how you feel. I've barely slept since…you know, that night."_

 _The two girls settled down on the big sofa, and Spencer reached for the TV guide. "Same here. But I keep trying to convince myself that she's fine. You know Ali. She probably just ran off with some older guy or something."_

 _Saige thought of Ian and bowed her head, chewing on her bottom lip. "She wouldn't do that. She would've come back by the time school started." She hesitated, then added quietly, "And she would have told me where she was going."_

 _She looked up just in time to see Spencer roll her eyes, though not unkindly. "Ali has tons of secrets. You think we ever really know what she's up to?"_

 _"_ _Maybe you don't," Saige replied, unable to keep the biting tone out of her voice, "but I do." She clamped her mouth shut immediately. If she said any more, it was only a matter of time before she started spilling actual information. She hadn't told the police any of Ali's secrets, and she wasn't about to tell their other friends, either. She would never. Ali would_ kill _her._

 _"_ _Look," Spencer said a little more gently, putting her hand on Saige's arm. "We all know that you and Ali have a special bond. But I know how it works with her and keeping secrets. You're crazy if you think you know any more about her – the real her – than the rest of us."_

 _Saige felt her face flush hot with anger. Mentally, she reviewed everything Ali had ever confided in her, the pictures she'd shown her and the trips they'd taken together. All the times Ali had whispered something to her during one of their sleepovers and then added, "Swear to me you won't tell the girls. It's a secret."_

 _Once again, tears burned behind her eyes. Something had happened to Ali. Something had had to. She would never make Saige worry in this way._

 _"_ _Ali's more than just a bunch of secrets and lies," she snapped, adding in an undertone, "At least she is to me."_

 _Spencer reeled back as if Saige had smacked her. "What's that supposed to mean?"_

 _"_ _It means you're not acting like you're very worried that she's gone," Saige retorted, narrowing her eyes. "Do you even really care?"_

 _"_ _Of course I care!" Spencer cried, leaping to her feet. Her face was aghast. "Do you seriously think that just because you're closer to Ali, that means the rest of us don't love her just as much as you do?"_

 _"Well," Saige spat, hating the words coming out of her mouth but unable to stop them, "you certainly weren't worried when she was late to the sleepover. And I didn't see_ you _going out and searching for her when she vanished that night."_

 _Spencer let out a disbelieving laugh. "I was asleep, we were all – " She trailed off, then took a deep breath and steadied herself. "You're acting like a real bitch."_

 _"_ _I'm acting like a concerned friend," Saige burst out, getting to her feet as well and facing Spencer straight on. "Which is more than I can say for you right now."_

 _They stared at each other for a long, tense moment. Saige's heart pounded. She'd never gotten into a fight like this with any of her friends before. Deep inside, she knew what she'd said was over the line,_ way _over the line._ _But way too much had happened in the last few minutes for her to apologize. They were far past that point._

 _"_ _Get out," Spencer said at last, pointing toward the back door._

 _Saige's heart dropped like a stone into her stomach. She stepped forward, suddenly desperate. She may have just lost her very best friend in the world – she couldn't lose someone else close to her just days later. "Spence, I – "_

 _Spencer whirled around, stomping toward the stairs. "Just go."_

 _Saige looked after her for a moment, regret and shame filling her chest, then sighed and let herself out, the back door banging shut softly behind her._

 _…_

"Spence." Saige put her hand on her old friend's arm gently. "Can we talk?"

Spencer stiffened, not looking at her. "The service is starting soon."

"Not for ten more minutes," Aria said helpfully, glancing at the time on her phone. "You guys have time." She gave them both a pointed look. Saige got the impression that she'd recognized the tension between them, too.

Saige stood, tugging Spencer up with her. "Come on."

They walked out of the sanctuary and down a little side hallway. Spencer shifted uncomfortably, looking away. "I don't think we should – "

"We need to talk about this," Saige cut in firmly. "I just…I can't do this anymore. It's been a year since that stupid fight."

"Yeah, well, it didn't feel so stupid at the time," Spencer muttered, folding her arms and finally meeting Saige's eyes.

Saige froze, twisting her emerald ring around her finger. She thought back to the last time she'd approached Spencer about their fight, two months after it had happened. She wasn't going to let Spencer walk away from her this time.

"I know," she said quietly, reaching out to touch Spencer's arm but thinking better of it and pulling away. "I said some…awful things. Things that weren't at all true."

Spencer bit her lip, and Saige could make out tears shining in her eyes. "I never thought you really felt that way…like Ali meant more to you than to the rest of us. That whole argument felt like a slap in the face."

"I _didn't_ feel that way," Saige said insistently, even though that was only partially true. "I didn't mean any of that, I swear. I wasn't even mad at you at first, I was just so upset and worried and I wanted everyone to feel exactly the same way I did. But that's not an excuse for the things I said. I was _awful._ "

For the first time, Spencer's expression began to soften. "You weren't the only one. I shouldn't have called you a bitch."

"I was being a bitch," Saige admitted, laughing. Some of the nerves in her stomach started to settle. Things were going to be okay between them. She could feel it. "I'm really sorry, Spence."

"I'm sorry, too. You tried to apologize so many times and I kept blowing you off. I didn't want to hear it."

Saige glanced around. The entrance to the church was completely empty, the last of the guests filing into the sanctuary. The service was about to start. "So we're good?" she asked, one corner of her mouth turning up in a wary smile.

Spencer watched her carefully for a moment, looking thoughtful. Then she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her. "We're good."

Saige hugged her back, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. At least she could say there was one good thing to come out of such a horrible day.

She and Spencer made their way quickly back to their seats. Just before the pastor took to the podium, Mrs. DiLaurentis turned around from the pew in front of them and shot a relieved and slightly irritated smile at someone in the back of the room.

Saige turned as casually as possible, curious. Her gaze focused on someone walking down the center aisle, right toward her, and she swore her heart could have exploded right there in her chest.

 _Jason._

His eyes met hers for just the briefest moment as he passed, and butterflies erupted in her stomach. Aside from the suit, he looked exactly the same as he did the last time she'd seen him.

An unrecognizable look passed across his face, gone as quickly as it had appeared. He slid into the pew beside his annoyed mother without another glance in her direction.

"Jason's here," Spencer whispered from beside her, unnecessarily.

"I didn't know he was back," Hanna muttered.

Saige stayed silent, focusing on keeping her face neutral as the pastor began the sermon. Her heart hammered so loudly that she could barely make out a word he was saying.

Suddenly, and for the first time in days, Alison wasn't the DiLaurentis on her mind.

…

Saige's eyes were wet and her legs were shaking as she walked out of the church an hour later, her arm linked tightly through Hanna's. She'd lost it about halfway through the service, and had spent the last thirty minutes clutching Spencer's hand and trying to keep her sobs quiet.

It was just so unbelievable. The girl who had loved life more than anyone, who had dreamed of being immortal, was dead.

"Girls," a deep voice spoke as soon as the five girls reached the sidewalk. "A word?"

They turned in unison, still clutching each other's hands. A young, clean-shaven man in a suit stood behind them. "Let's see," he muttered, pointing to each of them in turn. "Aria, Emily, Hanna, Saige, and Spencer?"

Saige exchanged a confused glance with Aria as Spencer spoke up. "Yes?"

"I'm Detective Wilden," the man said, reaching into his pocket and flashing a shiny badge at them. "I've just been assigned to the victim's case."

"Alison's," Saige clarified, blurting out the name without meaning to. Referring to Ali as _the victim_ just seemed so…cold.

"That's right. Alison. I've seen your names a lot in my notes. Seems like you six were a pretty tight-knit group of friends."

"We already talked to the police," Emily spoke up, her voice wavering. "After Ali went missing."

"And I've already reviewed all of your statements," Wilden replied smoothly. There was something about him, something almost calculated, that set Saige's nerves on edge. Like he knew much more about them than he was saying. "The thing is, the terms of the case has changed. This isn't a missing persons investigation anymore. It's a homicide."

Saige flinched at the word. _Homicide._ She hadn't really let herself think about Ali being killed. It was too brutal.

"Do you need something from us?" Spencer said, her voice just bordering on harsh.

"Not yet. But I'll be in touch," Wilden said, adjusting his tie. "You girls have nothing to worry about. I'm going to take every measure possible to ensure that I find out what happened that summer."

He strode away, leaving Saige and her friends in his wake. They turned to each other, fear on each of their faces. Saige studied the others carefully, knowing that they were all thinking of one girl in particular…one girl who would never see again. That girl was the only secret they had to worry about.

Jenna was on Saige's mind, too. But she was concerned about so much more than that.

"He can't know anything," Hanna blurted, shaking her head frantically. "Right?

"If you mean the Jenna Thing," Spencer replied firmly, her voice low, "then no. There's no way."

"He's just doing his job," Aria insisted, but her words didn't match the pale look on her face. "That's all."

"Then why was he looking at us like that?" Emily whispered, looking a little sick.

"Guys – " Saige began, not even sure what she was about to say, when the sound of five phones chiming cut her off. She squeezed her eyes shut. This could only mean one thing. "Oh my God."

"I think we know who this is from," Spencer mumbled as they reluctantly pulled their phones out of their purses.

Saige opened the text, readying herself for a taunting message from A, probably about the horrible thing they'd done to Jenna. She willed herself not to think about the role she'd played that night.

But the vague words on the screen chilled her to the bone.

 _I'm still here, bitches. And I know everything. –A_

 _..._

Thanks to Donny Donowitz, potterjay92, Lady Isabelle Black, RHatch89, and a Guest for reviewing, and for those who favorited/followed! Please keep dropping me reviews to let me know what you think - feedback leads to quick updates! You'll notice I kept some small aspects from the show intact...I'll continue to do that whenever I feel that a specific line or plot point fits nicely. But as you can probably tell, this story is going to bear little resemblance to the overall plot.

Hope you enjoyed! Next, Saige finally confronts her past with Jason.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was Hanna who managed to find words first. "What the hell does this mean?"

" 'I'm still here'?" Spencer asked, scrunching up her nose. "As in, Alison?"

"That's crazy," Emily said shakily, dropping her phone back into her purse. "Ali's dead. Now we _know_ she is."

"So A really is just someone impersonating her," Saige whispered as a group of mourners passed them on the sidewalk.

"Yeah, someone who knows what we did last summer," Aria blurted, her big eyes wider than usual.

Spencer looked up from her phone and glanced toward the front doors to the church. Her mouth dropped open. "Oh my God, you guys."

Saige whirled around, intrigued by Spencer's reaction. She couldn't think of anything that could possibly make this day any crazier than it already was. But then she saw what – or, rather, _who –_ Spencer was staring at, and her stomach turned over.

A girl with creamy white skin, long dark hair, and eyes totally concealed by dark sunglasses made her way slowly down the steps. Her arm was held tightly by a boy with floppy hair and a brooding expression – her stepbrother.

Saige inhaled sharply. " _Jenna._ "

"She was at the funeral?" Aria asked in disbelief. "Why didn't we see her?"

"She must have been sitting in the back," Spencer muttered in wonder, her eyes locked on the pair as they made their way toward a large black car parked at the curb. A driver hopped out and opened the door for them. Just as Toby leaned down to slide in, Jenna paused, turning her head in their direction.

Saige could have sworn she was staring right at them. But in the next moment she was gone, the back door of the car slamming shut behind her. Saige shivered all the same. After last summer, she had hoped that she would never see those pitch-black glasses again.

"I can't believe she's back," Emily whispered mournfully, her mouth twisting in worry.

Spencer shook her head, glancing once more at the horrifying text they'd all received. "Jenna comes back to town the same day we all get a message like this? That can't be a coincidence."

"You don't think A's talking about the Jenna Thing, do you?" Saige asked in a low voice, stepping into the grass to move out of the way of the lingering crowd.

"They can't be," Hanna said, throwing her arms out at her sides. "The only people who know about that are us and Alison. And I sure haven't told anyone."

"Me neither," the others echoed, an uncomfortable silence falling over them.

Finally Spencer sighed, pulling out her car keys. "We can't keep talking about this here. Let's go to the Grille."

"Fine with me," Hanna said, shrugging. "If we're gonna stress over Jenna I'd rather do it over a plate of cheesy fries."

Saige nodded, beginning to follow her friends toward the church's parking lot, but a blur of movement near the side of the building caught her eye. She turned, spotting Jason taking a seat on a bench under a shady oak tree. He leaned forward, clasping his hands in front of him. Her heart nearly broke at the lost look on his face.

"Guys," she called, barely thinking, and her friends turned back expectantly. "I, um, need to find my parents first and tell them where I'm going. Meet you there?"

They shrugged and murmured their agreement. Saige hesitated, watching until all four of them disappeared around the corner, before glancing back at Jason.

Maybe this was a bad idea. Even that brief second of eye contact before the service had sent waves of feeling through her whole body. She wasn't sure she'd actually be capable of speaking to him. Just looking at him from a distance brought all kinds of memories to the surface.

…

 _It was a perfect summer day, the kind Saige wished she could bottle up and hold onto forever. She and Ali lay sprawled on Ali's bed, flipping through fashion magazines while Spencer and Aria pawed through Ali's closet, pulling out clothes they wanted to try on. Hanna stood in front of the mirror, twisting Emily's hair into fancy styles._

 _"_ _God, I'm starving," Ali groaned, flipping the magazine shut and rolling over onto her back. "When's the pizza getting here?"_

 _"_ _It should be soon," Spencer said, setting down a black and white skirt and checking her watch. "We ordered it half an hour ago."_

 _"_ _We need drinks," Ali decided. "There's a twelve pack of Mountain Dew in the fridge. Saige, go grab it."_

 _"_ _Why me?" Saige whined, gesturing to the other four girls, who were already standing, and_ much _closer to the door than she was._

 _"_ _Because you know where to look," Ali explained impatiently. Saige raised her eyebrows, about to ask her best friend why she couldn't go and get the sodas herself, when Ali gave her a look that indicated she'd read her mind. "Come on, please? I have cramps."_

 _Saige knew that was a lie – she and Ali were on the same cycle. But she could never say no for long. "Fine," she grumbled, rolling off of the bed and trudging downstairs._

 _She yanked open the DiLaurentis' gigantic stainless steel fridge and peered inside, searching with her eyes for the box of sodas._

 _"_ _Looking for something?"_

 _Saige jumped in surprise and promptly banged her head on the refrigerator door. She grimaced, turning around and rubbing the sore spot. Jason stood in the doorway, his arms crossed._

 _"_ _Just soda," she replied, finally locating the box of Mountain Dew on the bottom shelf. She hefted it into her arms. When Jason didn't move, she added, "What? You need this for one of your parties?"_

 _Jason's usual brooding expression gave way to a bit of a smirk. "Yeah, I don't think so," he said slowly. "We don't exactly drink soda at the parties I throw."_

 _"_ _I figured," Saige replied, leaning the box against the counter. She knew that Ali and the others were waiting for her, but for some reason she found herself wanting to keep talking to Jason. But that was the crazy part. She'd been friends with Ali for years, and she'd never had this urge before. "I can hear the music blasting all the way from my house."_

 _That might have been a slight exaggeration, but Jason laughed anyway, only briefly. "Pretty different from the freshman parties you go to, right?"_

 _Saige flinched, thinking about how wasted she'd gotten at the last party she'd attended. It had been nearly impossible for her and Ali to hide her state from the rest of their friends. The last thing she wanted was anyone else finding out that she was developing a drinking problem, but the words were spilling out of her mouth before she could stop them. "You seriously think we don't drink at our parties?"_

 _Jason snorted, looking unimpressed. "Sure. Beer, tequila…kiddie stuff. You wouldn't last twenty minutes at one of my ragers."_

 _The condescending note in his voice sent a wave of irritation through her…along with some other emotion, something she couldn't quite describe but also something she knew she'd never felt before. "You don't know anything about me."_

 _Now he laughed full out, tilting his head back. He sauntered over to the refrigerator, nudging her out of his way, and grabbed a six-pack of beer from the shelf. "You've been hanging around this house for three years. I'm more observant than I look."_

 _He grinned at her easily, and she frowned, folding her arms even as flattery began to creep in. He'd really paid that much attention her? "How can you know how much I can handle," she asked, taking a step closer, "if you've never actually invited me to one of these 'ragers'?"_

 _Jason's easygoing expression morphed slowly into one of surprise, and Saige couldn't blame him. She couldn't even really believe that she'd said it, either. Since when had she gotten so bold, especially around Ali's brooding older brother?_

 _"_ _Alright," he said at last, smirking again, like he was humoring her or something. "Tell you what. My parents are going out of town on Friday. I'm having some people over. Why don't you show up and prove me wrong?"_

 _"_ _I'll be there," Saige confirmed, smiling back now. "And when I_ do _prove you wrong?"_

 _Jason's smirk widened, but just as he was opening his mouth to speak, Alison appeared at the top of the stairs. "Saige! What's taking you so long?"_

 _Saige leapt away from Jason as if she'd been burned. She grabbed the box of Mountain Dew, aware that her hands were trembling. "Nothing. I'm coming."_

 _"_ _I can't believe you were talking to Jason," Ali muttered, heading back up the stairs with Saige following. "He's probably already high. Ugh."_

 _Saige didn't respond. She glanced back downstairs, meeting Jason's eyes one last time before rushing back up to Ali's room._

 _…_

It was that specific memory, the thought of the warm feeling in her stomach when Jason had looked at her, that spurred Saige into motion. She walked stiffly over to the bench before she really let herself think about it, about how their relationship had ended instead of began.

"Hey," she said. It came out in a squeaky whisper.

Jason raised his head and met her gaze. If he was surprised to see her, he didn't show it. "Hey."

"Mind if I join you?" she asked boldly, gesturing to the bench.

He let out a breath, then scooted over, making enough room for her to squeeze in next to him. They sat in silence for a long moment. Saige couldn't tell if the awkwardness between them was real or just in her imagination, but she assumed it was the former. After all that had happened between them, how could things be any different?

"I feel like…I don't know, like part of me died with her," she murmured, mostly to fill the quiet, and because _how have you been_ just wouldn't really cut it. "Like there's a big hole in my heart."

Jason nodded contemplatively, not speaking. Finally he cleared his throat and said, in a choked up voice, "You want to know why I was so late?"

"To the funeral?" Saige asked, turning her head to look at him. "Why?"

He laughed humorlessly, shaking his head, still staring at the ground. "I almost didn't come at all."

She blinked, reeling back a little. "Really."

"Really," he confirmed, his voice raspy with held-back emotions. "I did it for my mom. She wanted me there."

Saige's heart was beginning to beat hard. "You should have wanted to be there," she scolded, the words feeling wrong even as she said them. What was she thinking? She hadn't spoken to Jason in over a year.

But he didn't seem offended. In fact, his expression grew even more remorseful. "I know."

She felt herself soften at the look on his face. "I know you loved Ali," she said quietly, considering putting her hand on his arm but ultimately deciding against it. Maybe at one time, but not now. "And I can tell you're crushed that she's gone. Funerals can be hard. A lot of memories. I get why you didn't want to come."

They were quiet for a minute or two, both of them staring out at the small park across from the church. "That's not it."

Saige's head snapped up in surprise. "What?"

"That's not…why I didn't want to come." He wouldn't look at her. "It wasn't because I was too upset."

She fidgeted with her hands, beginning to feel a flutter of nerves. "Um…okay. Are you gonna tell me the actual reason, then?"

In the silence that followed, Saige squirmed, feeling like she could reach out and physically touch the tension. At last he met her eyes, and the look on his face was so conflicted that she wondered if she even wanted to know. "You know that summer was, uh…rough."

She nearly threw up right there on the grass. "I don't think – "

"I'm not talking about us," he said quickly, and she detected a slight scoff to his voice. She opened her mouth angrily, but he stopped her. "I'm talking about, you know, the drinking, the drugs…I was high pretty much that whole summer."

"Not all the time," she murmured, unable to help herself.

He shook his head, not acknowledging – or maybe not recognizing – the meaning behind her words. "But I was that night. The night of your sleepover. That whole night is like a big black hole."

Saige wrinkled her brow, all thoughts of their past relationship dissolving at once. "You mean you don't remember any of it?"

For just a moment, something indistinguishable passed across Jason's face. He began to say something, then suddenly stopped. He cleared his throat and started again. "No. Nothing."

She squinted, getting the sense that he was lying to her. There was something he wasn't telling her…but he almost had. She sniffed back a fresh wave of tears and tried again. "Jason, you know you can tell me anything. I won't – "

"I have to go," he blurted gruffly, clapping his hands together and getting to his feet.

"Wait!" she cried, leaping up as he strode away from the church. "Are you staying in town?"

He stopped short, his back to her. After a long moment, he turned back just long enough to say, "For a while."

She stood, frozen beside the bench, watching him walk away until he disappeared, out of sight.

…

Saige's stomach was still churning by the time she got to the Apple Rose Grille, and the potent smell wafting up from the big basket of fries on the table did nothing to help. "What did I miss?" she forced out, pushing down her nausea as she took a seat beside Emily.

All four of her old friends frowned at her. "Not much," Aria said finally. "Just talking about Ali."

"That took a while," Spencer said, almost suspiciously. "Did you find your parents?"

"Um, no," Saige blurted, thinking fast. "I had to call my mom. Turns out they'd already left." She met Spencer's gaze confidently, praying that none of them would press her on it.

"Okay, now that we're all here," Hanna went on, waving a cheesy fry in the air, "what are we gonna do about Jenna?"

"Do we have to do anything?" Emily asked in a whisper. "Hanna, it's like you said. The only ones who know what we did are us and Ali."

"That cop sure seemed to know something," Saige muttered. Despite her nervous stomach, she grabbed a fry and shoved it in her mouth.

"He was looking at us like we were guilty of something," Spencer agreed. "What else could he think we're hiding?"

"Alison knew all of our secrets," Aria said, staring down at her water glass. "But it's not like we knew any of hers."

Saige shifted uncomfortably, sitting on her hands and trying to make her expression unreadable. Images of Ian, anonymous threats, and Cape May flashed through her head. Ali may not have told the others any secrets…but Saige knew plenty.

But could she really admit that to them? She'd sworn to not tell a soul. She'd made Ali a _promise._ Only…Ali was dead. And what if spilling her secrets helped them figure out who was sending them messages?

She took a deep breath. "Guys – " Her friends turned to look at her.

"Which one of you is Saige Bosler?" A waitress appeared at their table, holding a small brown paper bag.

Saige frowned around at her friends, raising her hand. "Uh, I am."

"Here are your leftovers," the waitress said pleasantly, setting the sack down in front of her.

"Wait, I didn't even – " Saige called, but she was already halfway across the room. Saige glanced around the table. "That was weird, right?"

"Who cares?" Hanna raised her eyebrows. "It's free food."

"Food that I never even ordered?" Saige said, unsure. "I don't know." Cautiously, she opened the bag and peered inside.

It didn't contain food, but the small object sitting inside nearly made her drop the bag in shock. She gasped, reeling back. "What is it?" Aria asked, exchanging an anxious glance with Spencer.

Saige shook her head, feeling like her mouth was glued shut. She could taste the one fry she'd had, and swallowed hard. "Is it from A?" Spencer demanded. "Something about Jenna?"

"I…" Saige squeezed her eyes shut and turned the bag upside down, and its contents fell onto the table with an almost inaudible thud.

The girls all gasped. Aria's hands flew to her mouth, and Hanna looked a little green. Spencer leaned forward, lowering her head to get a better look.

Emily stared at the object on the table, looking just as pained as she had at the funeral. Her hand flew instinctively to the nearly identical version wrapped around her wrist. "Is that…?"

Saige nodded wordlessly, unable to believe her eyes.

It was Alison's bracelet.

...

Sorry it took longer than usual for an update, but only three reviews on my last chapter didn't give me a whole lot of motivation to keep writing. Thanks a ton to potterjay92, RHatch89, and a Guest for your thoughts. I really only post here for feedback on my work, so guys, I'd really appreciate if you'd take a few moments and let me know what you think. I'd love to get back up to at least five reviews for this one. At any rate, I hope you enjoy!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Are you sure it'll be safe here?" Aria wrung her hands together, shooting a nervous glance toward the door.

Saige raised an eyebrow, shifting around the tangled necklaces in the bottom drawer of her jewelry box so Ali's bracelet was completely concealed. "It's a bracelet, not a bomb."

"What about Dani?" Emily asked, referring to Saige's thirteen-year-old sister. "Does she still snoop around in your room?"

"What? No," Saige said, but hurried to shut the door to her bedroom, just in case. "It'll be fine."

Hanna glanced over at Spencer, who was standing by the window and staring out of it with a blank expression. "Hey," she said loudly, smacking her on the shoulder. "Did someone flip the off switch on your brain or something?"

Spencer whirled around, her eyes bright and questioning. "You guys, was Ali…wearing that, the night she died?" she asked, nodding toward the jewelry box.

"She always wore it," Emily replied, a little tersely.

"She was," Saige confirmed, thinking back to the sleepover, which stood out so vividly in her memory. "I high-fived her after she pranked us and I remember seeing it on her wrist."

Aria folded her arms and furrowed her brow. "What does that…" She stopped short and drew in a breath. "Oh my God."

Emily shook her head hard. "No. It can't be."

It was Hanna who finally proclaimed what they were all thinking. "Did someone seriously take that off of Alison's body?"

For the second time in an hour, Saige felt distinctly like she was about to be sick. She hadn't even thought about _how_ Alison's bracelet, the one she was buried in, ended up delivered to her in the Grille…only about _who_ had sent it. She looked warily at the open drawer of the jewelry chest. "Um, on second thought, does anyone else want to take it?"

"This is crazy," Aria burst out. "How could someone have gotten that bracelet off of her after they found her body?"

"Unless someone took it before that," Spencer mused, staring off into space in the way she always did when her brain was running a mile a minute.

Saige bit her lip, digging her nails into her palm. As much as she hated to think about this…it did make sense. "Someone like A?"

"A was the one who led us to her body," Spencer said with a shrug, sitting down on the edge of Saige's bed. "So we know they must have had something to do with what happened to her."

"Okay, can we _please_ stop talking about bodies?" Hanna groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead. "I just ate."

Emily frowned, sinking down into the chair at Saige's desk. "It really freaks me out that A knew where Ali's body was," she murmured.

"Should we really still be calling them A?" Aria said vehemently. "I mean, Jenna has to be behind this, right?"

"I don't know," Saige muttered, twisting her silver ring around her finger. "A has always kind of seemed like they can see everything."

"Yeah, and they also seem like they have a huge grudge against us!" Hanna exclaimed, throwing her arms out at her sides. "Who else would want to ruin our lives?"

"If A is Jenna, she's working with someone," Spencer said firmly. "Someone who _can_ see."

Aria raised her eyebrows. "Toby?"

Emily shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know. He just joined my chem class. He doesn't seem like that bad of a guy."

Spencer gaped at her like she'd suddenly sprouted a second head. "You can't be serious, Em. Toby's a perv. He was peering in our _window_ that night."

Saige's stomach turned over. She jumped to her feet. "You know what? My mom and Dani will be back from soccer soon. You guys should probably go."

Her four friends moved toward the door, glancing anxiously in the direction of the hidden bracelet. "We'll talk at lunch tomorrow," Spencer said.

Saige hurried to shut the door behind them, then collapsed on her bed, forcing herself to take deep breaths even as that horrible memory rushed back to her.

…

 _"_ _I'm serious, Hanna was_ this close _to asking Sean out at lunch today. You should have been there, she was just about to go up and talk to him, but then his friends came over and…" Saige trailed off and frowned, looking up from her phone. "Ali, are you even listening to me?"_

 _Her best friend turned slowly away from her closet, where she'd been shifting absentmindedly through clothes for the past fifteen minutes. "Hmm?"_

 _Saige sighed in exasperation, tossing her phone onto the bed and sitting up. "You've been like this all day. What's going on?" She glanced covertly at the closed bedroom door. "Does it have something to do with Ian?"_

 _Ali laughed lightly, finally selecting a blue tank top and pulling it on over her head. "No. Sorry. I guess I'm just excited about tonight."_

 _"_ _Tonight?" Saige wrinkled her nose, even more confused. "You're all lost in thought because you're so pumped to go hang out and watch the fireworks at Emily's house?"_

 _"_ _What?" Ali asked, a bit of annoyance creeping into her voice as she brushed out her hair. "I can't be excited to hang out with my friends?"_

 _This was the point where any of their other friends would have backed down and squeaked out an apology, but Saige stood up and crossed her arms with a disbelieving look. "Ali."_

 _They stared at each other for a lingering moment. Ali's expression was set and defiant, but Saige didn't let up. She'd known Ali long enough to know that she never kept anything from her for long._

 _At last, Ali sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll tell you. But you have to swear not to tell the other girls."_

 _Now it was Saige's turn to offer an eye roll of her own. "I can't believe you still think you even have to say that."_

 _Ali settled reluctantly down on the bed and Saige scrambled to join her. "I have a plan," she announced, in the typical Ali way that Saige was so used to._

 _"_ _What do you mean? A plan for what?"_

 _"_ _For tonight," Ali said, a gleam in her eye. "I finally thought of a way to get back at Toby_ and _Jenna."_

 _Saige felt a sinking feeling deep in her stomach. She recognized that look on Ali's face, and nothing good ever came of it. "Why would you do that?"_

 _A dark cloud passed across Ali's face, momentarily dimming her joyful expression. "That slut's been trouble ever since she showed her face last Halloween," she muttered, staring straight ahead. "She needs to know who she's really messing with. And so does her loser brother."_

 _"_ _Wait." Saige shook her head, her unease growing. "This is all because Jenna didn't want to join our group and Toby wouldn't kiss you last year?"_

 _For just a moment, Ali almost looked like she got Saige's point. But then her expression hardened again. "It's no big deal," she insisted, smiling reassuringly. "Just a harmless little prank. They'll never even know it was us."_

 _"_ _Us?" Saige cried, jumping to her feet. "What exactly_ is _this plan, Ali?"_

 _Her best friend hopped up as well. She strode over to the air vent, one of her favorite hiding places, and detached it from the wall. She reached in and pulled out the familiar wooden box. Saige watched nervously as she lifted something small and thin out of it. "What is that?"_

 _"_ _A stink bomb," Ali explained, grinning slyly. "Toby's about to get a nice surprise in his creepy little garage hideout." She snorted and shook her head in disgust. "What a freak."_

 _Saige didn't really see how Jenna played into this, but she focused on the object in Ali's hand instead. She'd never seen a stink bomb before, but for some reason she hadn't imagined that it would look much like this. "I don't know about this, Ali. Maybe you should forget about Jenna and Toby and move on."_

 _"_ _Don't try and change my mind, Saige," Ali warned sharply, dropping the stink bomb into the top drawer of her desk. "It's happening, whether you like it or not."_

 _Saige didn't doubt that, but she could feel her nerves growing. She couldn't just stand here and not try and stop her! "What about the others?" she asked desperately. "How are you going to get them to go along with this?"_

 _Ali smirked, slinging her small chain link purse over her shoulder. "You'll see. Just play along."_

 _Her heart racing, Saige raised her hand instinctively to her mouth, only to lower it when Ali shot her a look of exasperation. "I don't like this," she said finally, surprised at herself. As close as she and Ali were, she rarely questioned Ali's often poor decisions. She usually found it easier to just stay quiet and be there for her when things backfired. But this was different – this could be_ dangerous. _"What if something goes wrong?"_

 _"_ _Oh my God," Ali groaned, in a tone that Saige wasn't used to hearing – at least not directed toward her. "You're not gonna wimp out on me, are you? I swear, nothing's going to go wrong. I've seen Jason and his stoner buddies throw these things around a million times. It'll stink up their stupid garage, that's it."_

 _Saige still wasn't sure, but she could tell by the look of determination on Ali's face that arguing would be pointless. "I guess you're right," she mumbled uncertainly. "I just hope you know what you're doing."_

 _"_ _Of course I do," Ali said confidently, striding over to the door. "And you'd better not say a word to the others. Now come on. We're late."_

 _Saige took in a deep breath and followed, walking right into the night that, up until that Labor Day, would become the worst of her life._

…

Saige jolted upright, realizing with a glance at the clock that she'd been lying on her bed, reliving that horrible memory for over half an hour.

She'd _known._ She'd known what Ali was planning. Of course, at the time she'd been convinced that it really was a stink bomb, that it really was a harmless prank. She'd had no way of knowing what was going to happen…and she was pretty sure Ali hadn't realized it, either.

But still. Her other friends had had only minutes to try and talk Ali out of such an insane idea. Saige had had _hours._ She could have stopped Ali so easily, could have grabbed that stupid firecracker away from her and insisted that if she really cared about her, about any of them, she wouldn't do something so dangerous.

But instead she'd just gone along with it. Like usual with it came to Ali.

Her phone was in her hand before she really even allowed herself to think it through. She pulled up a new group text to her four old friends.

 _I have to tell you guys something. Meet at our old place in half an hour._

 _…_

Twenty-five minutes later, Saige bounced nervously on her heels, resting one hand on the slightly rotting wall of the old abandoned cabin. The six of them had spent hours in middle school laughing and snacking inside that dusty shack. It had been Ali who'd discovered it, naturally, and even though it was gross and musty and weathered from the rain, it was their special place, their own secret hideout.

But when five o'clock came, Saige was beginning to wonder if the others remembered the cabin as fondly as she did. None of them had seemed confused when they responded to her text, but they _had_ spent a lot of time at other places. Maybe they didn't consider the cabin in the woods to be as important as she did.

She was just about to give up and head to the Kissing Rock – Emily in particular had always been partial to going there, for some reason – when the branches to her left began to rustle.

"Hello?" she called out, feeling a jolt of nerves even though she knew that was ridiculous. Emily and Spencer emerged from between the bushes, and she let out a breath.

The others were just a few minutes behind them. Aria arrived last, her hair hastily tied back and her lipstick a little smudged. Spencer gave her a bemused look as she pushed through the branches to join them. "What have you been up to in the last thirty minutes?"

"What?" Aria blinked, her eyes darting quickly back and forth between them. "Um, nothing, I was just taking a nap."

"Yeah, I could have used one of those myself," Hanna muttered, smoothing down the hem of the black dress she'd never taken off after the funeral. Saige watched her, suddenly realizing that she was still wearing hers, too. It felt like hours ago that they'd been sitting in those pews.

"So what's up?" Emily asked finally, turning to Saige and crossing her arms. "What couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

"Did you get another text from A?" Spencer asked, almost eagerly.

"No," Saige muttered, wringing her hands together. "I just need to tell you guys something, and I can't talk about it where other people might hear us."

She glanced up just in time to see worry flicker across her friends' faces. "Look, if this is about whatever A has on you," Aria said hastily, her brow furrowed, "we don't need – "

"It's not about A," Saige said, taking a deep breath. Telling them the truth about her role that Fourth of July had seemed like such a great idea when she'd sent the text – spill the details before A did it for her. But now that she was here, actually facing them, she felt all of the courage melt right out of her. "It's about…that night."

"The night Ali went missing?" Emily demanded, her face falling.

"No. The night of the Jenna Thing."

Spencer's eyebrows shot up. "You know something about that night that we don't?"

"No, you can't," Hanna blurted, waving furiously at a buzzing mosquito. "The six of us were together that whole night."

"No we weren't," Saige said quietly, resisting the urge to shut up and run. "Remember how me and Ali showed up at the same time? That wasn't a coincidence. We'd been hanging out beforehand."

"That's not surprising," Spencer said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, you and Ali used to hang out alone all the time," Aria added with a shrug.

"But this time was different," Saige went on, forcing out the words that she so desperately didn't want to speak. " _Ali_ was different. It was almost like she wasn't really in the room with me. And when I finally asked her why she was so distracted…she told me."

Emily's forehead creased. Her face paled. "Told you what?" she asked in a wavering voice, though the other girls all exchanged looks of stunned comprehension.

Saige closed her eyes, leaning back slightly against a tree. It was now or nothing. This was the moment that her friends would either judge her…or understand. "She went over to…her jewelry box," she stumbled, deciding at the last moment to keep her knowledge of Ali's secret hiding spot to herself, "and she pulled something out of it. I – I thought it was a stink bomb, she _told_ me it was a stink bomb…and she also told me what she was planning on doing with it."

"Whoa, wait." Aria held up her hands before Saige could go on. "You're saying you _knew_ about the Jenna Thing before it even happened?"

"Yes, I mean – kind of." Saige gripped the hard bark of the tree, feeling like the world was about to spin out from under her. She had just gotten her old friends back. She couldn't bear it if they dumped her again over this. "She told me that it was a prank. She wanted to mess with them. I had no idea what was really going to happen, honestly."

"You knew for _hours_ and you didn't try and stop her?" Spencer burst out, in a voice louder than Saige would have liked.

She shook her head frantically. "Of course I did! I begged her not to go through with it. But you guys knew Ali. Once she got an idea in her head, there was no stopping her."

"You must have misunderstood." Emily began to pace back and forth around the small clearing, running her hand along the side of the cabin. "Ali came up with the prank because she saw Toby spying on us. She never would have…" She trailed off, rubbing at her arms uncomfortably.

"I swear to you, this was planned," Saige insisted. "Jenna and Toby didn't seek out her approval and Ali didn't like that. It had nothing to do with him peeking in our window."

"Would Ali seriously do something like that just because Jenna wouldn't be her friend?" Hanna snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe it was more than that," Spencer blurted, her face ashen. Saige's heart, which had just started to slow down as she realized that her friends weren't going to berate her for keeping such a big secret, began to thump hard again.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her voice high.

Now it was Spencer who looked as nervous as Saige had felt just moments before. "You're not the only one who was keeping a secret about that night," she muttered, staring at the ground.

"Are you kidding me?" Hanna cried. "Please don't tell me _you_ knew Ali was going to throw that stupid firecracker, too."

Aria frowned, her mouth twisting in worry. "Spencer?"

"I didn't know," Spencer admitted, sighing. "But I did see her after the accident, once the fire engines arrived. She was threatening Toby. It sounded like she had something on him. Something more than peeking in our window."

"Which he didn't even do," Emily piped up quietly, still wearing a look of hurt and betrayal.

"Whatever it was, it must have been bad," Aria whispered, shooting a nervous glance into the woods surrounding them. "Toby spent a year in juvie. Whatever Ali had on him must have been something that would have gotten him in even more trouble."

Hanna turned to Saige, raising her eyebrows. "Do you know what it was?

Saige jumped, startled by the question. Her head was spinning so fast that it took her a moment to realize what she'd been asked. "No! I don't know anything about that. Why would I?"

"Well, it sure seems like Ali told you a lot more than she told us," Spencer said, shortly but not unkindly. "If anyone knows what she had on Toby, it would be you."

"Well, I don't," Saige almost snapped, rubbing her arms as the weight of Spencer's words sunk in. She and Ali had told each other _everything._ Saige knew so many things that the others didn't…things that she logically knew she should tell them but just couldn't bring herself to.

Would Ali have really kept something like this from her? A secret so big, so bad, that it would force Toby into taking the fall for arson? It didn't make any sense. Saige pictured Ali, and for the first time in over a year, the image in her head didn't seem quite so clear. Had she really known her best friend as well as she'd thought?

What else had Ali kept from her?

It was the sound of five cell phones simultaneously chiming that tore Saige out of her whirlwind of thoughts. A twig snapped in the distance, and everyone jumped. They exchanged scared yet tired looks as they pulled their phones out of their pockets and bags.

 _Five little liars, together again. But here's a tip: Next time, don't leave your valuables unguarded. – A_

"What does this mean?" Emily asked shakily after Aria read the message aloud. "Did A break into one of our houses?"

"I just bought a new pair of Gucci sunglasses," Hanna moaned. "And I even paid for them," she added under her breath.

Spencer gave her a questioning look, but before she could ask, Saige gasped, staring down at the message and suddenly realizing its meaning. "Alison's bracelet."

Without pause, she tore into the woods, running full-speed toward her car. Her friends followed, and ten minutes later they were racing up the stairs to her bedroom.

Saige flung open the door and swept her gaze around the room. Everything looked normal and untouched, exactly as she'd left it half an hour ago. Even her jewelry box remained in its place on her dresser. She yanked open the bottom drawer to find the same tangled necklaces and bangles. Nothing was out of place.

Except one thing.

She pushed aside a few pairs of earrings and an old watch and gasped as her friends crowded in around her. Alison's bracelet was gone, and in its place was a small gold chain with an A shaped pendant dangling from it.

"It's gone," she breathed, clutching the necklace and holding it out.

"That's impossible." Spencer pushed her gently aside and leaned over the jewelry box, shifting through the drawer's contents and even taking a look at the rest of the box.

"A was in my room," Saige whispered, shuddering as a chill swept through her. She walked over to her window and pulled the curtains closed. "You guys, A broke into my _house._ What if my little sister had been home?"

"This doesn't make sense," Aria decided, shaking her head and taking the A necklace from Saige. She turned it over in her hand. "Why would A give that bracelet to us only to take it away?"

"Why wouldn't they?" Emily said helplessly. "We still don't even know what this person wants."

"Oh my God." Hanna was staring at something across the room, and Saige turned as she pointed with a shaking finger.

Written on the mirror attached to the closet door, in bright red lipstick that looked exactly like the shade Ali used to wear, was another message, as if in response to their questions.

 _My game, my rules._

 _..._

Well...I can honestly say this was not my intention. I really, really did not mean for this chapter to take so long, and I'm so sorry to anyone who has been waiting patiently for an update. The start of a new semester really took time away from me and I really did not have much of an opportunity to write until recently. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed. Please continue to review and let me know what you think - it was your great feedback that got me to seek out the time to finish this one! Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long to get up.


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